Hurricane of Darkness
by spiritxdragon
Summary: You never know what is most precious to you untill it is gone... A new girl has joined the Order of the Phoenix... emotionless and cold, she goes about on her job, but what is she aiming for? (rated for future chapters, takes place after Harry's 5th year)
1. Visitor From the Downpour

Part One – Visitor from the Downpour  
  
"Bloody hell, does this rain ever stop?" Ron's voice echoed with boredom as he sat next to the window, his head propped up on his elbows as he stared glumly outside. "It's been pouring for several weeks now. I wouldn't wonder if the place flooded in a couple days..."  
"Well, this house already has a Flood-Repellant Charm on it, so I don't think it will actually flood, although a couple places might leak..." Hermione's voice came through muffled through an enormous volume she was reading; the dusty cover revealed the letters: "Ancient Theories in Foreign Spells". She went on, not bothering to look up. "Leaks will be especially likely if whoever put the charm up is gone for too long, or if—"  
"Hermione, he was joking, aright? I don't we need an extra lesson special charms or anything when we're already bogged down with homework." Harry looked up from his notes, ink splattered across his nose as he shook his quill. "Stupid quill... doesn't pick up the ink quite right..." The quill giggled and spit out a spurt of ink in Harry's direction, the black liquid staining the floorboards.  
The three were scrunched up in a spare room of the musty old house that was the Order's base. They were busy with their homework... or at least two of them were. Ron had given up half an hour ago, throwing his notes into the air and proclaiming that he was going to leave it for later. His thoughts were preoccupied by something else. "Say, what do you think the new person's going to be like? Mum wouldn't tell me much except that she was going to be a foreigner."  
Hermione shut her book, giving Ron a rather impatient look. "Ron, you'll know in a few minutes when she gets here. Stop being so impatient."  
Harry struggled to stop his giggling pen from shooting ink into his mouth at he spoke in Ron's general direction. "Yeah. Why are you so intent on knowing about her anyways? Interested in a romantic relationship?"  
Ron nearly blushed as he shot back indignantly, "No, I am not!" Scratching his nose, he looked outside once more. "I'm just interested in what the new person will be like..."  
Earlier that day, Mrs. Weasley had told them that a new person would be joining the Order and was expected to arrive today. "A foreigner!" She had exclaimed, her eyes twinkling with excitement. "A young girl, around your age, and pretty too! I'm sure she'll be a very interesting person for you kids to know." Inside, Harry mused the prospect. 'What would be so interesting? Wouldn't she just be another foreign student or something?' His quill gave another giggle and nearly jabbed him in the eye, sending him crashing to the floor on his side in surprise. The noise almost drowned out the sound of the front door creaking open and Mrs. Weasley calling upstairs: "Kids! The guest is here!"  
Promptly chucking the quill down on the floor and trying to wipe the ink off his glasses, Harry got up, robes flapping wildly as he tried to keep up the pace with Ron, who had gone crashing down the stairs like a mad rhinoceros the moment he had heard the door. Hermione, with an exasperated sigh and a muttered "boys...", quietly followed suit, trailing down the staircase.  
The front door was already closed again when the three students got down, and Mrs. Weasely was seen fussing over a black-robed figure with a fluffy blue towel in hand. "Dear, you should have brought an umbrella or something! You'll catch a dreadful cold if you just walk around in the pouring rain like this!"  
"I am fine, Weasely-san. Do not worry about me." The black-robed figure spoke up for the first time. It was definitely a girl's voice, but more like a cat than a human. Silky and smooth, it gave the impression of a calm, poised adult rather than a young teenager. "... I see that the others you mentioned earlier are here..."  
"Oh, dear me! And I didn't even notice you three!" Mrs. Weasly quickly backed off from the figure, giving the three students a good look at the visitor's face. "Kids, meet Ayumi Haruno, the guest that I was talking about. She's just come from Japan with her new Auror's license!"  
Harry only had to take one look at the girl before he realized that he was looking at someone... foreign. Knee-length raven-black hair was shiny from the rain-water, and her mismatched gold and black eyes gleamed like jewels. Unblinking, she gave the three dumbstruck students a polite bow. "Please to meet your acquaintance." Her golden eye seemed to be watching them... 


	2. Mismatched Eyes, Misplaced Past

Part Two – Mismatched Eyes, Misplaced Past  
  
Hermione was the first to regain her wits. "An Auror's license? But you're only our age! Becoming an Auror requires years and years of special training, not to mention really good grades all throughout school and special permission from the government and registration and tests and—"  
"Now, now, Hermione. I know you're excited about the new guest, but don't pester her with question the moment she gets in! Lead her up to your room. She'll be sleeping with you and Ginny." Mrs. Weasely seemed eager to get the four to talk to each other. And with that, the three of them were shooed upstairs with the mysterious newcomer trailing behind.  
With much difficulty, the four of them managed to squash into Hermione's room next to the three beds, the three Hogwarts student seemingly eager to know the Asian girl. Meanwhile, Ayumi seemed absolutely calm as she placed her suitcase on the bed and began rummaging through it.  
Ron was the first to speak up. "So.... You're an Auror?"  
"Yes."  
'Doesn't speak too much, does she?' Harry though to himself as he watched the girl unpack several strange-looking garments. "Wait. But when I asked Proffessor Mc- I mean, one of my professors, she said that becoming an Auror really does require special training and really good grades and all of that..."  
Pulling out a hairbrush, the girl began to run it through her hair as she replied. "I finished the required seven years of school education last year and completed the Auror training this year. I took the test last week and just received my Auror's license today."  
"So, you're, what... some sort of super-genius?" Ron blurted out, looking rather surprised. "Hermione, you've got competition, it seems!"  
Ayumi gave Ron a look before she replied. "I am nothing of that sort; I am just another person trying to use magic for the good of everyone." She turned to Harry. "And, for your information, yes, becoming an Auror does require what your professor mentioned... um...."  
"Harry. Harry Potter. Just call me Harry." Harry immediately regretted having introduced himself as Ayumi arched an eyebrow at him. However, the next moment, she turned away and went back to unpacking as if nothing had happened. "Oh, and... by the way..." He pointed in Ron's general direction. "That's Ron Weasely... And that's Hermione Granger."  
Ayumi looked up at Hermione and blinked. "It's nice to know that there is another female my age around here." Taking her soaked black robe off, she threw it into the air, whence it promptly flew over to the coat rack and hung itself there quite neatly.  
Hermione looked quite interested at the Asian girl's casual display of magic. "So.... Did you get any special training for becoming an Auror? Any special education or anything?" When Ayumi nodded in response, she went on, looking excited. "Then you must know loads and loads of special spells! Like the famous Yami Curse and the—"  
The girl suddenly got up, a loose garment held in her arms. "I am sorry, but if you would excuse me for a moment.... I would like to change out of my water-heavy clothes..." She left the room quickly, shutting the door behind her, heading down the hallway.  
"So... what do you think of her?" Hermione looked rather interested as she spoke up. "She looks really smart doesn't she? I bet she could give us loads of tips on spells and stuff."  
Harry nodded. "Yeah.... If you can make her talk. She doesn't really seem like the type of person to talk a lot..."  
"She looks rather strange, doesn't she?" Ron blurted out. Both Harry and Hermione looked at him with arched eyebrows. "I mean... have you seen her eyes? The left one's all.... Yellow.... Like a cat's.... It creeps me out..." Hermione sniffed in apparent disapproval, and Ron went on. "And... she's too cold... it's like... she doesn't want to talk... I think she's kind of... strange..."  
He shut up the next moment as the door quietly opened, and the young Auror walked in, wearing some sort of robe-like garment. Harry gave it a strange look. "Just... what are you wearing?"  
Ayumi replied without looking at Harry. "It's called a yukata. A casual type of traditional Japanese wear." Carefully, she hung her other clothes on the coat rack, then shut the suitcase on her bed, sliding it under the bed frame before turning to Hermione. "And... you were saying...?"  
  
"That girl knows a lot..." Harry mumbled as he stepped wearily into his room and started changing into his pajamas. "I never would've thought that she was only our age. You'd think that she was some sort of teacher, with all that stuff she knows..."  
It was late at night, and the last couple hours had been spent talking to the young Auror. She had continued to speak in her short, concise, army-like way, but had at least smiled once when Ron had tripped in the doorway coming back from the restroom.  
Ron scratched his nose. "Well... I still don't like her.... She's still too cold... like a... soldier, or whatever Muggles call'em."  
Harry smiled wanly, then realized that Hermione's voice could still be heard through the wall, along with Ayumi's short replies. Getting ready to go to sleep, he mused out loud, "I wonder what they're talking about..."  
  
"So... why did you decide to join the Order anyways? I'm sure that you have a lot to do working as an Auror already..." Hermione asked as ran a brush through her hair, getting ready for bed.  
"I have nowhere else to go." Ayumi was seated cross-legged on her bed, flipping through a small, worn paper book inscribed with complex writing. "I was kindly offered to stay here by Albus Dumbledore when he saw me taking the Auror's test." Shutting the book, she slid it into her suitcase, her long hair nearly covering her face as she leaned down. "He said that I would be welcome here..."  
"Oh... but don't you have a place to stay in Japan?"  
There was a rather long silence before the girl replied, her voice still cold, but reflecting obvious sadness. "My parents were both Aurors... they were killed by Death Eaters... I was raised by my relatives... but they recently disowned me because they could no longer afford to care for me." Turning off the candle next to her bed, she lay down, her face hidden under the covers. "I am sorry, but I am extremely tired from the international trip and I do not truly feel like talking about such... things... Good night."  
It was quite a while before Hermione managed to shake the girl's sad statement out of her head. 


	3. A New Dawn, A New Discovery

[Tis amazing how I'm actually still working on something that no-one's even reading... oh well...]  
  
Part 3 – A New Dawn, A New Discovery  
  
Harry awoke to the sound of some loud crashing outside followed closely by wild cackling. 'What the—Oh, right.... Crookshanks is chasing gnomes again...' Putting on his glasses, he realized that Ron was still sound asleep, when the clock beside on his bedstand red... 9:48. Quickly getting up, he shook his friend awake. "Ron, wake up! You've slept enough!"  
"Huh... what?" Rubbing his eyes groggily, the redhead got up, stifling a yawn. "What's the rush, Harry?"  
"Not much... it's just that..." Harry's voice was muffled for a moment as he pulled on a light shirt. "It's late enough, and I don't want my first impression to the new girl as a late-sleeper..."  
Ron blinked, and nodded, reaching for his trousers. "Fine, fine... I'm awake anyways, so might as well go down for breakfast..."  
Ten minutes later, the two of them headed down to the kitchen, where they found Hermione munching on toast and reading the newspaper. "You're late..." she said rather pointedly, pushing two plates of bacon and eggs towards them.  
Pouring himself a glass of milk, Harry seated himself. "Good morning to you too, Hermione..." Then, looking around, "Where's the new girl?"  
Turning the page of the newspaper, Hermione answered. "Ayumi? She went to one of the spare rooms up stairs to train herself... or at least that's what she said. She said she'd be out in the back yard."  
"Train? But wha's da ufe of training if you can ufe magic?" Ron mumbled with his mouth full. After receiving a severe glance from Hermione, he swallowed before speaking again. "I mean. If you have magic, what's the use of training yourself? You can just use magic."  
Harry silently agreed to this as Hermione launched into a long, supposed-to-be-informative speech on the relationship between one's physical condition and the power of their spells.  
  
"So, what... are you saying that the more buff a person is, the better spells they cast?" Ron sounded half-confused, half-weirded out as he spoke, scratching his head. "That really doesn't make sense, since Hagrid should be just about the best wizard in our school then!" Harry had to stifle a laugh at Hermione's indignant expression.  
"Ron! That's not what I meant! When I meant was—"  
They never got to find out what exactly Hermione meant because they were rather rudely interrupted by the sounds of something breaking... a very large something. After taking one look at each other, they broke into a sprint. Panting for breath, they stormed upstairs where they discovered the source of the noise.  
Ayumi. When the three students came crashing into the room, she looked rather surprised for the first time. "What...?" She was dressed in a loose, white garment that Harry recognized from having seen it on Muggle television several times. It was a martial arts costume. Clenching and unclenching her bandages fists, she approached the panting three. "Do... you need anything of me?"  
Hermione finally managed to catch her breath, looking around as she spoke. "We heard a really loud crashing noise coming from here, and we were just wondering what it was. I'm pretty sure if wasn't Crookshanks or anything..."  
"Hey, what happened to that log over there?" Ron was pointing at a shattered log lying on the floor just behind the puzzled Ayumi. "Maybe whatever happened to that log was the noise we just heard..." Turning to Ayumi, he spoke excitedly. "Hey, did you see anything happen here by any chance? Anything strange or..."  
The girl merely shook her head, glancing at the log "That piece of wood is merely what I practice with... and nothing strange happened around here as of lately..."  
"Wait, wait, wait.... You... practice with that thing? ... You mean, with magic, right?" Ron looked rather befuddled as he spoke up, scratching his head.  
Ayumi merely shook her head in response, poker-faced as usual. "To strengthen one's magic, he must strengthen his body first." Turning around and reaching down, she picked up the shattered piece of wood, standing it on the ground vertically. "That is what I was taught when I began my Auror training."  
"But how do you train you—"Harry had just began to say something when Ayumi suddenly let fly a spinning kick, striking the battered log smack in the middle and sending it flying half-way across the room. Landing smoothly, the young Auror glanced at Harry.  
"Excuse me? Were you saying something?"  
"Uh...." Harry realized that his jaw was hanging open, and quickly shut it. "No... not really..."  
Ron, on the other hand, was practically ecstatic. "How the hell did you do that? That was bloody awesome! Did it take you a lot of practice to learn that? That's just amazing!" he was about to go rambling on for several more minutes when a crumpled ball of paper came flying from behind and hit him on the head. "Ow!" Harry looked up and realized who the mischief-makers were. "Apparently, our ikkle Ronniekins has fallen in love with the martial artist" Fred Weasly's voice was dripping with mock affection as he called out to his little brother. Ignoring Ron's shout of indignant rage, he instead directed his attention to Ayumi, who was busy clenching and unclenching her fists. "Mum wants to see you. Said something about going out to get some decent clothes or whatnot"  
"Hai. Please tell her that I will be there soon."  
George's voice reached them only moments afterwards. "Oh, and Mum says that ikkle Ronniekins shouldn't be bothering the poor, dear, tired Auror." Ron narrowly missed hitting George with the paper-ball that Fred had thrown at him only moment earlier.  
Meanwhile, Ayumi had quietly gathered up the log and the splinters and began heading downstairs. She paused at the door, turning to the Hogwarts threesome (out of which Ron was still fuming). "I..." She started speaking, then stopped, shaking her head, her mismatched eyes emotionless as usual. "Never mind." Turning around, she walked outside, the shattered wood tucked under her arm.  
Ron was the first to speak up after the girl had left. "Is it just me or does she seem to be hiding something?"  
Harry shrugged, but his thoughts lingered. 'What was she going to say?' 


End file.
